Fruits Basket
by Haruka Black
Summary: The manga in a book form! Please be gentle in opinions...
1. Omake Theater 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

Summery: This is a writtem version of the manga. I'm sorry if anyone doesn't like it. I only wanted to try my hand at something like this. I'll keep it as much to the book as possible.

**Bold-**narration

"..."-regular speach

Omake theater 1

**The girls at school all call Yuki "The Prince," but they haven't seen this mess.**

The kitchen was horrible. Trash was stacked up with flies buzzing all around it. The smell coming from the pile was equal to a small landfill. The piles of filth extended from one wall to the other without any spaces in between.

Yuki Sohma looked at the large pile in the kitchen holding the remains from dinner that night

'This is pretty bad.' He thought with disgust. 'We really should clean soon.'

Yuki looked away from the pile for a moment deep in thought. He seemed oblivious the horrible smell coming from the piles next to him.

'Oh well.' He thought throwing the dinner remains into the pile of trash. 'What difference will one more make?"

And thus the sea of decay expands!

**Cleanliness may be next to godliness…but if Yuki's any indication there's no correlation with Princeliness**.

Authors notes: I'm trying to write the manga out. If anyone has any advice(positive) I'd love to hear it.


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

Summery: This is a writtem version of the manga. I'm sorry if anyone doesn't like it. I only wanted to try my hand at something like this. I'll keep it as much to the book as possible.

'...'--thoughts

"..." regular speaking

**Bold**--Tohru's narration

_Italics_--Dreams or memorories

Chapter One

"Wow…" said Tohru climbing out of her tent and out into the open

"It looks like it's going to be another hot one." She exclaimed standing up straight and shielding her eyes from the sun with a smile on her face.

"I'm not forgetting anything am I? Okay mom you're in charge while I'm gone." she said poking her head back into the tent. A picture of her mom was carefully set up next to some school books.

"I'm off." She said happily looking over her shoulder one last time at the closed tent.

**Good morning! My name is Tohru Honda. This May my mother passed away. She raised me by herself, so when she was gone so was my home. And now I live alone in this tent. It's a long story.**

"I have some time before school," thought Tohru looking at her watch. "So I think I'll explore the area."

I can't say my life is easy, but I make out okay. No matter what happens in life, I never let it get me down. That's me-Ever the optimist!

Tohru walked through the forest admiring all of the plants and trees. The light morning dew was making everything sparkle and shine in the light.

A house caught her attention. She hadn't expected anyone to be living in the middle of the forest. Feeling slightly adventurous she went up closer.

"Wow, just look at this place! I didn't know there was a house here." She thought looking around at the beautiful house.

**It's so peaceful**

"Oh…How cure!" She thought looking at small figurines that appeared to represent the zodiac.

"Hello, what's this? I must be seeing things."

Tohru looked up in surprise to see a young man standing in front of her holding a newspaper. He was looking over the paper and looked surprised to see her.

"A girl…out here? My, my… a high school girl no less!" He said looking as surprised as she was still.

"H-Hello! I'm sorry for trespassing! I just saw these and--" Tohru stammered not knowing what to do.

'Ahhh!' She thought. "There was someone there! There still is!'

"Please continue. I merely set them there to dry." He said motioning to the figures appearing to be over his surprise.

"I thought young people these days were bored by old fashioned superstitions like the Chinese Zodiac." He said with a small smile.

'Oh, what a beautiful person.' Thought Tohru with a small blush. He had a nice kind face.

"N-No!" stammered Tohru. "I think the Zodiac ornaments are adorable!"

"Hmm…Aren't they?" he said knelling down next to them. "I like them too."

Tohru felt slightly relaxed that the man wasn't bothered or irritated that she had trespassed.

"But I guess you wouldn't have the cat…" She said trailing of feeling slightly sad.

"Cat? Oh you mean the cat from the Zodiac legend?" Looking slightly surprised that she knew about the old legend.

"That's right!" Tohru said smiling. "My mother told me that story all the time."

_God told the animals 'I'm inviting you all to my banquet tomorrow. Don't be late' _

_Hearing that the mischievous rat to his neighbor, the cat, and told him the banquet would be the day after tomorrow._

_The next day the rat rode on the back of the ox and numbly landed before the banquette hall. After him the ox the tiger, and all the rest, and together they feasted until morning. All except the cat who had been tricked_

_"Why are you crying Tohru?" asked Kyoko confused by the tears in her daughters eyes._

_"Poor thing. Poor, poor, poor cat…" cried Tohru._

_"I know I'll stop being a dog and be a cat!" she declared jumping out of bed._

"That's how much I like the cat." She explained.

"Is that so…?" he said looking thoughtful. "I wish I could see the expression on his face if he heard you say that."

"What?" asked Tohru slightly confused.

"Oh nothing. So you were born in the year of the dog? I knew I felt connected to you can't you feel it? I'm a "dog" too. You--"A school bag came out of nowhere and smacked him in the head making him falter. "…See…"

Really must you always be such a lech?' said a new voice nest to the man on the porch.

Tohru looked in concern at the man and his pained expression.

"Okay, that hurt. What do you have in there, a dictionary?" asked the man rubbing his head.

"Two of them." The person on the porch said. Tohru looked up to see that she knew the person to her surprise.

"Are you alright, Honda-san? My cousin didn't do anything to you did he?" Asked a beautiful young man with silver hair standing on the porch.

"So-Sohma-kun…! G-Good morning!" Tohru stammered once again fighting to find words.

"Morning." He said with a small smile putting the school bag that he had used to hit the other man onto his back.

"Must you always make me out to be a pervert?" the man asked dejectedly.

"I'm Shigure Sohma, Yuki-kun's cousin." Said Shigure pointing to himself.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Tohru Honda." Tohru said quickly and bowed.

"Honda-san, what brings you here?"

"Oh!" said Tohru quickly thinking. She didn't want them to know that she was living in a tent. "I live nearby1"

"Near…here?" asked Yuki.

"Really." Said Shigure. Tohru couldn't tell if he believed her story or not. Yuki looked confused.

"Well anyway, we're going to be late. Since you're here why don't we walk to school together?" suggested Yuki with a smile.

"I was really nervous. Sohma-kun is so handsome…I just froze up. We didn't even talk." Said Tohru blushing.

Tohru, Uo, and Hana were in foods now. The sound of girls preparing and cooking their food could be heard all around. It was the perfect time for Uo and Hana to here about Tohru's morning.

"Hmm…I detect strange electrical waves emanating from him." Said Hana mysteriously looking at the point of a large knife she was using to chop food with

"Time for Hanajima's wave report." Uo said looking uninterested with the idea. She wasn't helping to prepare the food either.

"Strange?" Tohru asked curious as to what Hana meant.

"I don't really know how else to explain it." Hana said putting down the knife.

"What's to explain? The guys a walking enigma. Never talks about himself." Uo said pushing her long hair out of her eyes. "I heard some girl confessed her love for him once.. and when she tried to hug hum, he flung her away totally freaked out."

"I-I didn't know that." Tohru said "I wonder why?"

"Exactly." Hana said.

"It's the mystery that makes him so intriguing." Explained Uo.

"You there!" said the teacher walking over them. "Move your hands, not your mouths."

"Oh…Oh my." She said seeing how nice there food looked compared to some of the other girls in the room.

"Hey lobster face. Can we go now or would you like us to extract your foot from your mouth." Uo asked.

The teacher came to her senses.

"Who do you think you're fooling?! Honda-san made those for you!" She said angrily.

"What do you care?" Uo asked

"Oh my, the rice is done too." Said Hana.

Tohru stood their feeling a little embarrassed that they had been found out. The teacher walked away though to go and listen to the complaints of the other girls about the edibility of their food.

"Oh, hey, I'm going shopping after school with Hanajima on my way home today. Why don't you come with us?" asked Uo before a thought struck her. "Oh wait, you're working aren't you?"

"Yes I don't want to be late." Said Tohru apologetically.

"That sucks you having to pay all your school expenses yourself." Uo said sympathetically.

"But you shouldn't have to work everyday just to pay your tuition." Said Hana placing a large bowl of rice in front of Tohru.

"After I graduate, I want to be able to pay my own way." Said Tohru with enthusiasm. "That's why have to start saving up now!"

"God Damnit Tohru you're making me cry! So selfless." Said Uo sniffling and letting the emotions for her friend get through her tough yankee exterior.

"Eat up you need you strength!"

"Our little Tohru made this." Said Uo making the meal Tohru made see fit for an emperor.

"Your still living with your dad's family right." Said Uo demanding more than asking the question.

"Yes!" said Tohru quickly but feeling like she was betraying her friends about where she was really staying.

"Are they feeding you properly?" Uo questioned. "They're not cheating you out of the money you're earning, are they."

She was being as overprotective as usual but Tohru felt horrible that she wasn't telling her friends the truth.

"Mmm…perfect." Hana said savoring the rice. "Not a grain out of place."

**I can't tell them the truth. If she knew I was living in a tent, Uo-chan would be outraged. She'd burst into grandpa's house on her motorcycle!**

Tohru managed to get out of the classroom as soon as she could and avoided any other questions that her friends had for her that might reveal her secret. For the rest of the day she tried to concentrate on her school work and not the problem of the tent.

"Oh!" said Tohru in surprise. She was arriving at her locker to change into her street shoes and she was surprised to see that Yuki was also at his locker.

"Sohma-kun!" Exclaimed Tohru. "I'm sorry about this morning."

She still felt that she had done something wrong by looking at Shigure-san's Zodiac figurines.

"It's I who should apologize." He said with a small smile as he closed his locker. "Please forgive my cousins rudeness."

"Oh, no!" Said Tohru defending Shigure. "He was wonderful. We were just looking at his Chinese Zodiac ornaments."

He started walking with her out of the school.

"Did I hear correctly that you wish you were born year of the cat?" Yuki asked casually.

"Er…I was eccentric when I was little." Tohru said with a blush.

"I see…" Yuki said not looking at her. "The cat is a fool. And he has a bad nature."

"Huh?" Tohru said confused. 'Bad nature?'

"Did you know…" Started Yuki, "…That the Chinese Zodiac is actually a timekeeping system of tens and twelve's? It was used for calendars and clocks. Later astrologers combined it with the principles of yin-yang, the five elements and symmetry in order to tell fortunes."

"Animals had nothing to do with it?" Tohru said slightly surprised as she tried to keep up with Yuki's fast walking pace.

"No." He said not noticing that he was walking so fast.

"When they added the animals…" He trailed of for a moment. "…No one really knows."

"But there was never room for the cat in the Zodiac." Said Yuki. His voice had changed slightly and it almost seemed like he was irritated by something.

"And its better that way. The cat would throw off everything." Yuki said still sounding irritated at something. "The cat really is a fool."

Tohru was confused at where Yuki had gone.

'I was following his story just fine…" she thought confused "…but now I'm lost."

"Sohma-kun," She said carefully. "You-hate cats?

He looked at her funny like he had almost forgot that he had an audience to his story. He turned and looked at her smiling. He didn't say anything but Tohru could tell there was something else that he wasn't' saying.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Huh?" Tohru said digging around in her pocket and pulling out a beeping watch.

"Eh." She said looking at the time.

"Aaahh! On no! Is it that late already?! I'm sorry Sohma-kun! I have to go to work." Tohru said in a slight panic.

"Honda-san…" he said softly walking over to her. He picked up a leaf from her hair that had fallen when she saw the time.

"I noticed this morning," he said. "You don't look well. It's been quite hot out lately. You shouldn't overexert yourself."

"Well" he said walking away. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Tohru place her hand where the leaf had been. She didn't know what to say.

_'It's the mystery that makes him so intriguing.'_

'I think I know what she meant.' Thought Tohru remembering what Uo had said earlier. "My head is spinning just from being around him."

"Don't" said a group of menacing voices from behind a bush a telephone pole. "Get a swelled head."

"Don't take advantage of Sohma-kun's kindness!" said the stalking girls.

"I won't!" Exclaimed Tohru sounding embarrassed.

_'You shouldn't overexert yourself.'_

**Sohma-kun please don't worry on my behalf. Because I'm sure mom had it much, much worse.**

**My father died of illness when I was three. My mom worked to support us. Mom was always there for me. She was my cheerful protector. It never occurred to me that she could die.**

**There were arguments about who would take me in. I'm sure they had their reasons. Eventually the family decided I should stay with grandpa. Grandpa lives off a pension so I promised to pay my expensed myself.**

**That was in May. But four months later…**

**"**My daughters family is coming to lice with us." Said Grandpa. " I thought it would be nice to remodel the house before they arrived.

"During the remodeling I'll be staying at their place. I'm sorry but could you stay with a friend during that time?"

**Uo-chan lives I a small apartment, and Hana-chan is in a family of five. I couldn't bear to trouble them for however may months it may take to remodel!**

**That's when it hit me.**

"Okay!" Tohru told her grandfather with enthusiasm.

**I'm going to start living by myself someday, anyway. Why don't I just start now? That's' right! You make your own luck. It's all in how you think about things. Even if it means having no money and living I a tent that you bought on sale!**

**Even if instead of door-to-door salesmen I'm visited by mosquitoes and slugs! Even if a simple storm threatens to blow my house away like the other day! I'll never give up. I cant' let I get to me. I will not allow for sadness. My home is my castle!**

**"**My, my, my. Look at the time. I almost forgot about dinner." Said Shigure to Yuki. They were walking through the dark woods near their house.

Yuki sighed.

"Take-out every night is no way to live." Shigure said sighing. He had his hands inside his kimono to keep them warm.

"Then you make some dinner, Shigure." Yuki said not bothering to look at the other man

"But you hate my cooking." Shigure said looking confused.

"That's because you put pickles in curry." Yuki explained in slight disgust.

"As if you're one to talk. You may be smart, Yuki-kun, but your homemaking skills leave **much** to be desired." Shigure said dramatically. "What we hopeless bachelors need is a "flower" to brighten up our barbaric lives. And by flower I mean woman."

"Well aren't you progressive, Shigure." Yuki said tiling his head.

"What?" Said Shigure defensively. "Wouldn't you like to have a woman around the house?

"Oh!" He said suddenly. "Isn't that Tohru-kun?"

He had spotted her moving through the trees walking off the path.

"Of course you remember a _girls_ name." mocked Yuki.

"Yes I do have a gift don't I?" Shigure said with an air of overconfidence.

"It's awfully late to be wandering around in these woods. Does she really lie nearby?" He had dropped he playful tone from his voice. "And is it just me of does she seem a little drunk?"

"Hmm." Yuki said thoughtfully.

"I heard her mother died. Maybe she moved here?" He guessed

"But that's impossible. We're not renting this land to anyone." Shigure said confused.

Yuki and Shigure looked at each other for a moment before making a decision.

"So tired." Sighed Tohru swaying as she walked. She was in the forest again on the outside of her tent.

"I'm home mom." Tohru yawned and opened the door to her tent. "I'm falling asleep, but I have to finish my homework."

"Oh…so…dizzy." Tohru said as her vision swam slightly. "Maybe if I wash my face I'd-"

She stopped talking feeling eyes on her back. She turned slowly around to see Yuki and Shigure standing behind her.

Shigure started laughing hysterically. He was pointing his finger at her also like she was some kind of crazy sideshow.

"Shigure, don't be rude." Yuki said looking at Tohru no sure what to do.

Tohru, herself, sat there feeling horrified.

"I see, so that explains the tent. How long have you been living there?" Yuki asked

"For about a week." Said Tohru looking down.

They were seated at Shigure's table. Yuki was sitting calmly while Shigure was bent over with his mouth in his hand shaking. An occasional giggle escaped from behind his hand.

"I wondered how you could by living nearby. You know that this hill is Sohma property?" Yuki explained. "We haven't rented it or sold it."

Shigure was still having problems not laughing. He let out a smothered "a girl in a tent." Before giggling again.

"Um…then if it isn't too much trouble could you rent me a camping space? I'll leave as soon as my grandpa's remodeling is don't. I don't have much won't, but I can pay." Begged Tohru. "Please?"

"That place is dangerous the cliff wall is unstable and you never know when some shady character might pass through." Shigure said since he had finally stopped laughing. "Besides, where will you plug in your curling iron?"

"Are you done?" Asked Yuki irritated.

"It's okay! I don't mind the slugs!" said Tohru standing up suddenly.

'_Ack!_' thought Shigure and Yuki at the same time.

"I can take care of myself." Said Tohru forcefully.

"Please?" She persisted. "I'm…_begging you_"

She trailed off sinking to the floor.

"Honda-san?" Yuki said in concern standing up and going to her.

He put his hand near her forehead and could feel the heat before he even toughed her skin.

"You have a fever." He said worriedly. "You don't look well."

"I'll get ice. Ice." Said Shigure standing up.

"Huh." He said looking into the kitchen. "Now, if I were ice were would I be hiding?"

"It's like a garbage jungle." Said Tohru horrified by the piles of garbage in the kitchen.

"Oh!" Shigure said with a smile. "That's nearly poetic!"

Outside in the distance the sound of a dog howling could be heard. Shigure looked over towards the outside like he was listening for something.

"There was a land slide just now." Stated Shigure.

"What?" Tohru asked confused.

"The ground is still weak from the storm." He explained.

"Uh, um…How do you know?" Tohru asked still confused.

"How? Call it 'animal instinct'." Shigure said mysteriously.

"Stop messing around. Where was the landside?" asked Yuki sounding serious.

"Always so solemn, Yuki-kun." Shigure teased.

"Could it have been...?" Tohru said Trailing off.

"W-What if it was near my tent?!" Tohru said panicking.

"That's the spirit." Shigure said with cheerfulness.

"Seriously where was it?" said Yuki starting to get concerned.

The Cliffside had collapsed smothering everything in tons of dirt. Nothing would have survived the amount of dirt that had fallen.

Tohru looked at the mound of dirt in horror.

"Ah!" She exclaimed in horror.

"This is terrible! My picture of mother was in that tent!" She exclaimed in panicking and not knowing what to do about the dirt covering the picture of her mother.

"Mom!" she exclaimed in distress.

"Honda-san." Yuki said worried about the distressed girl who had started trying to dig through the dirt.

"Honda-san, calm down. You're not well." Yuki reasoned trying to stop Tohru.

"But!" She exclaimed in distress. Her face was flushed with a fever and her hands were covered in dirt.

"But, but-mom! I have to save her!" Tohru explain still distressed. "She's in pain!"

"Let's come back when it's light out." Shigure said taking her hand to stop her from digging. "If there's another landslide and you get hurt, your mother will be in even more pain."

Tohru looked at him torn between listening to his advice or to keep digging.

"Okay?" Shigure said kindly.

Yuki and Shigure brought Tohru back to their house where they had made her a bed to lay down in.

"Yuki-kun's looking for some ice tight now. It's probably fatigue. You've been pushing yourself too hard."

"Again." Said Tohru miserably. "I lost my home again. My castle…"

Shigure looked at her in mild surprise but said nothing.

"Does it hurt." He asked softly.

"No. I've been through worse." She said with her voice muffled by the blankets.

"You poor child." Said Shigure sympathetically. "Tell me about it."

" 'Come home safe.' Why couldn't I just tell her that?" Tohru said in a small voice. "The morning my mom died in the accident…I had a quiz. That was the only morning I didn't tell her 'come home safe'. I stayed up all night studying and I overslept. I always did-except that once."

"I…after the accident, I considered not going to high school and just working full time. But mom would have said 'I only graduated from junior high. I missed out on a lot of opportunities because of it. So I want you to go to high school and have fun for me.' She wanted a better life for me. She worked so hard and, I forgot to tell her to come home safe. I didn't see her back as she left for work."

"But it's no too late! Even with my grades and my house being blown away, I can still make it up to my mom. I cant' bring her back, but I can live the life she wanted for me. She wanted me to finish high school. So I'll graduate, for her."

"This is no time to…lose to…," Tohru's voice had started to trail off as she fell asleep. "…a fever."

"Is she asleep?" Yuki asked from the door way.

"Were you listening?" Shigure asked looking away from the sleeping Tohru.

"I'm surprised." Yuki said. "At school she's so care-free. You'd imagine the life she's lived. It's incredible, really."

"incredible how?' asked Shigure not sure what Yuki meant.\

"I've always wanted to run away from the Sohma family." He said softly. "I could have lived in the woods, but I only had the courage to run as far as another Sohma house. I could have lived in a tent like Honda-san."

"I'm acting like a spoiled brat. It's pathetic." Yuki said sounding slightly disgusted with himself.

"Well you are spoiled." Shigure said hitting Yuji lightly on the head with his fan.

"But your spirit is different for Tohru-kun's. There's really no comparison." Shigure explained to Yuki. "And if you think that's incredible. Then you really don't appreciate Tohru-kun."

"Can you take care of her? I'm going out." Yuki said suddenly standing up from where he had sat next to Shigure.

"Where? Don't tell me you're going to dig up her things? Should I go with you?" Shigure asked looking at Yuki who was opening the front door. "It's too much to do alone."

"Alone?" said Yuki for out side thousands of small glowing eyes could be seen outside.

"I never said I was going alone." Yuki said with a small mysterious smile closing the door.

Shigure looked at the closed door with a small smile.

"Be careful."

_Tohru was resting her hot head in her mothers lap. She felt dizzy and sick. Her mother rubbing her head and smoking a cigarette with the other hand._

_"You have a fever again." Kyoko said to her daughter with a worried frown._

_"You don't have to push yourself so hard." She said while rubbing Tohru's burning forehead._

_Kyoko stood and looked at Tohru hard._

_"Tohru you must always be yourself." Declared Kyoko to her daughter. "And do things at you own pace."_

_Tohru drank in every word that her mother said._

_"Someday," said a young boy to a young Tohru while he pulled her baseball cap over her head... "You'll catch up." _

**But this time if I don't push myself a little…I'll die alone.**

Tohru lay in bed as the last of her dreams faded away. Tears were pooling in the corners of her eyes as she remember her mother.

After a second the sleep had cleared from her mind and she realized that she wasn't in her tent.

In a spilt second she remembered what had happened the night before. She had gotten sick, and come to the Sohma-kun had found her tent, then…

'Oh no!' She thought in a panic throwing the blankets off of her body. 'How could I fall asleep? I have to dig mom out!'

She jumped off of her bed and threw the door open to the outside. Standing right outside the door was Yuki holding bags in his hands.

"Good morning." Said Yuki with a small smile. "How are you feeling?"

"So--muh-goo." Tohru stuttered forgetting where she was for a moment. She hurriedly started trying to brush her hair with her fingers.

"Here. You're picture."

He handing the picture to her. He set the rest of the bags on the porch next to her.

"The rest of your things should be in these bags." Yuki said motioning to the bags. "Could you make sure?"

"Eh? How?! You dug through the landslide by yourself?!" Tohru was completely confused as to how all of her things were sitting on the porch in front of her.

"Of course not." He said with a small laugh.

"Then how did you--?" Tohru trailed off not knowing what to say.

"It's a secret." He said mysteriously.

Tohru looked at him in total confusion.

"Well, thank you." Tohru said with a small bow. "Thank you so much!"

"Sure." Said Yuki picking up her bags. "I'll take you things upstairs."

"Huh?" Tohru said not sure that she had heard what Yuki had said correctly.

"The house is filthy, and we're no used to having women around, but there's room for you upstairs." Yuki explained looking back at her from the door way to the house.

"You can stay here until the remolding is finished."

"NO!" said Tohru shaking her head back and forth rapidly. "No! I couldn't possibly--!"

"Oh, don't worry. There's a lock on the door." Said Yuki thinking that she was worried about living in a house full of guys.

"Th-that's not it! I mean…"

"Boo!" Shigure said behind Tohru.

"Eeep!" she said. She hadn't noticed the older man in the room.

"Tohru-kun, do you like house work?" Shigure asked. He had already moved on from Tohru's reaction to being scared.

"Like cleaning and cooking." He elaborated.

"Um yes I like house keeping. I'm pretty good at it too, if I do say so myself. Why?" asked Tohru calming her surprised heart beat.

Shigure gave her a beaming comical smile.

"Welcome to the Sohma house!" he said with enthusiasm.

"This room hasn't been used in a while so it's a little stuffy. Oh, well need to make a spare house key."

"I'll help carry your things. Err, the little ones." Shigure said grabbing one of the smaller bags that held Tohru's things. "Yuki-kun find her something to wear. Her cloths are a mess."

"Eeeeeep!" said Tohru, this time in distress. "No… really, I couldn't! Taking care of me and giving me a room-it's too much! I'm causing you too much trouble."

"Honda-san." Yuki said in a calming voice. "We're the ones asking you to stay. You're not a bother. If we didn't want you here, we wouldn't ask."

"But!" said Tohru still distressed.

"Besides where else are you going to go?"

That one line clinched the deal. Tohru stopped arguing and followed Yuki up the stairs.

"On the right is Shigure's office, on the left is the toilet, further down is the bath." Yuki said while pointing to various doors in the hallway.

"I'll try not to be any trouble. Please tell me the Sohma rules and customs. I don't want to do anything to--"Tohru said trying to calm her heart with all the things that were going on.

"Honda-san." Yuki said calmly again turning and facing the fretting girl. "It's okay just be yourself, and do things at your own pace. You'll fit right in."

_Tohru, you must always be yourself._

'Sohma-kun really is a mystery.' Thought Tohru

"I'll do my best! I'm at the mercy of your hospitality." Tohru said bowing again.

"Like I said." Yuki shook his head at the girl and showed her into the spare room.

**It felt like a dream.**

"It really is stuffy in here." said Yuki as he walked into the room. "I'll open the window."

**Suddenly, I was lining in Sohma-kun's house. And even borrowing his **

**clothes! **

'It's all too good to be true I hope my staying here doesn't cause them too much trouble.' Thought Tohru still feeling distressed a little.

CRASH!

Tohru gasped in shock and there was a large crash from behind her.

Yuki looked calmly away from the window as if he knew what was making the sound.

Tohru turned around scared as to what she might see. She was surprised to see that there was boy standing amongst the wreckage of the ceiling.

He was wearing a black shirt and olive cargo pants. His hear was bright orange. On his wrist there was a small bracelet of alternating white and blackish red beads.

"Yo." He said rolling one of his shoulders and making it crack while the other rested on top of it. "Are you ready for me to break you neck, rat-boy?"

'Eh? Thought Tohru as the orange head cracked his other shoulder. "The ceiling…Is he hurt? Wh-who…well hello orange head.'

"Seriously must you break something _every _time you come home?" Yuki asked seethingly. "When are you going to learn? You're too **weak**."

"Why you!" yelled the orange head. "If you think I'm the same as before you're in for a world of pain! Today I'm taking you down!"

Behind the orange head Tohru was freaking out as he clenched his fist angrily.

"Brace yourself!" He yelled.

"No! P-please stop." Shouted Tohru trying to stop the two from fighting.

Unfortunately the orange head was standing amongst the rubble and Tohru slipped on a piece of wood. Instead of just grabbing onto his shirt she ending up falling on top of him.

"Hyaaah." Yelled Tohru as she fell against the orange head.

"Ah?!" he said in shock

"Ah!" Yuki said in distress.

"**And"**

"AH!" Yelled the orange head as soon as he realized who was grabbing him.

"AAAAAHHH!" Yelled Tohru and the orange head as they feel to the floor.

"**The cat unable to attend the banquet, was angry that he had been deceived"**

"Yuki-kun? I heard the noise…" Shigure said walking into the room looking worried. "Is Kyo back?"

He saw Yuki with his hand on his forehead looking extremely stressed.

"Ah!" exclaimed Tohru in distress pulling away the cloths that were on the floor

"I-I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Excuse me!" She said pulling something orange and furry out of the pile of cloths.

"**And was always trying to catch the rat."**

"Oh my." Shigure rubbing his chin not quite sure what to do.

"Can't we do something about that idiot." Yuki asked with one hand around Shigure's neck.

Tohru held the orange cat out at arms length away from her not saying anything.

Hanging from the cat's tail was the shirt that Kyo had been wearing seconds before.

Authors notes: So yay or nay? Please reveiw. I'm only going to take the time to do this if people actually like it. If you don't like it I don't want to hear a huge complaint unless it's somehing that I can fix.


	3. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

Summery: This is a writtem version of the manga. I'm sorry if anyone doesn't like it. I only wanted to try my hand at something like this. I'll keep it as much to the book as possible.

'...'--thoughts

"..." regular speaking

**Bold**--Tohru's narration

_Italics_--Dreams or memorories

Chapter Two

"He turned into a cat." Said Tohru looking at the irritated orange cat she was holding up. "But, he was a boy just a second ago."

"Aaahh! Is this because I crashed into him?" Tohru exclaimed in a panic. "I hit him in the wrong place and he turned into a cat?"

"No…Well yeah. Kinda?" Shigure said two fingers on his forehead. This wasn't something that he had been expecting to happen and he wasn't sure how to deal with it.

Yuki was looking away from the whole thing irritated.

"We have to get him to the hospital!" Tohru said starting to make for the door.

In her arms now Kyo was starting to freak out not being able to get away from Tohru's grasp.

"He needs to get medical attention."

Unfortunately Tohru and Kyo were standing right under the spot that Kyo had just broken through in the ceiling. At that moment a loose board came crashing down and landed right on top of Tohru's head.

Yuki turned to around to see what had made the sound when he felt Tohru fall against him and Shigure.

"Tohru-kun!" Shigure said in concern.

"Honda-san?!" Yuki said having not seen what had happened so he didn't know why she was falling towards them.

"Ah!" Yuki and Shigure said as she fell against their chest both opening their arms slightly to try and catch her before they could stop themselves.

There was a large 'Poof!' of smoke and Tohru was looking into the face of a large black dog.

The Dog and Tohru looked at each other for a second one in shock and the other not having a clue what to do cloths were flying around the both of them and so was a small gray ray. Tohru still had a hold on the orange cat.

"Hello? Choppaya delivery. Did somebody order break fast?" Said a man from downstairs sliding open the front door.

"Sohma-saaaaan?" Tohru said in shock to the dog.

Moment's later Tohru was down stairs holding a cat, rat, and dog and being extremely panicked.

"They're all animals." Tohru gasped because she was panicked and all three together the animals were heavy.

"Huh?" The delivery man said in confusion looking at the distressed sounding girl.

"Uh, yes those are animals. Does Sohma-kun have pets now?" Asked the delivery boy."

"YOU don't' see too many girls around here." He said more to himself than to Tohru.

"Eh…?" Tohru said confused. "No, that's not what…"

"So, uh that'll be sixteen hundred ye-"The delivery man stopped.

The black dog had managed to slip out of Tohru's grasp and was now holding a wallet and looked up at the Delivery man.

"Ah ha ha! What a smart dog! Well thank you for your patronage." The Delivery boy left leaving Tohru holding a pile of breakfast food.

The black dog had moved behind Tohru and plopped down.

"Ahhhhh!"

Tohru jumped at the sound and turned around and saw the three animals behind her.

Great! Now how are we gonna explain this mess?!" The orange cat yelled arching his back with his fur standing on end.

"Don't blame me you're the one who got us into it stupid cat." Said the rat sitting on top of the dogs head. The dog had it's eyes closed and seemed to be ignoring the cat and the rat.

'Th-they can talk!' thought Tohru in shock.

"ARF!" The Dog said.

"The jig is up. We might as well talk." The dog said. "In a nutshell, I'm the dog, Yuki's the rat, and Kyo Sohma is the cat."

"We're possessed by their vengeful spirits. And there are ten others in the Sohma family who are also possessed. Ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, and boar."

Tohru was looking in complete amazement at the three animals sitting in front of her.

Shigure was a dog that was talking to her. Yuki was hanging off of his tail watching her and Kyo was curled up looking behind his shoulder glaring at all of them.

"For hundreds of years, the Sohma family has bees possessed by twelve vengeful spirits that correspond to the zodiac."

"We don't have any special powers or anything—well we can communicate with our respective animals, but when our bodies are weak, and, for some reason when we're hugged by the opposite gender, we transform. After some time we transform into humans."

Poof! There was another puff of smoke and the three animals had turned back into humans.

"But we're completely naked."

"Eek! Eek! Eek!" shrieked Tohru jumping away and looking towards the wall away from the three naked guys.

"Sorry about that. Didn't mean to show you things you weren't ready for." Shigure apologized after putting cloths on. "Feeling better?"

"I'm getting there." Tohru said feeling overwhelmed and looking down at the table she was sitting at.

'They're possessed by the spirits of the zodiac. I've learned a terrible secret. Sohma-kun didn't want anyone to find out. That's why he pushed away the second year who tried to hug him.'

Yuki was standing next to Shigure looking awkward and not saying anything.

"By the way, Tohru-kun." Shigure sat at the table and leaning across to whisper to Tohru. "You said you wanted to be a cat. What do you think now that you've met him in person?"

'Oh yeah!" thought Tohru excitedly with a smile looking at Kyo who had his back turned away from her. 'So **he's** the cat.'

"Wh-what's he like?!" asked Tohru excitedly in a whisper to Shigure.

"Kyo's such an idiot." Shigure said no longer being quiet. "He spends all his time studying martial arts but he didn't even notice you were right behind him.

Tohru felt that Shigure was making fun of Kyo on purpose. It was not what she had expected him to start doing.

"What a disgrace. He should have at least felt your presence. I hope he plans on taking responsibility for this mess."

"Ha, ha, ha! He's like a lovestruck fool—He only has eyes for Yuki-kun." Shigure said resting his elbow on the table and his chin on his hand.

"Shut up! Don't' say it like that!" Kyo turned around and yelled at them know that he could hear their conversation.

"I can't help it if people come sneaking up on me! What's she…what's a **girl **doing here anyway!?" he yelled.

"Eh?" Tohru said confused and shocked.

'What should I do? We haven't even met and he's mad at me!" thought Tohru in distress.

"Watch you mouth." Yuki said with hate. "Whether there's a woman in this house or not is none of your concern. You're an outcast remember?"

Kyo stood up quickly.

"Shut UP!" He yelled punching the table with enough force that it broke in half and splintered.

"Whack?" he said as the table hit Tohru on the head.

It didn't knock her over but a small drop of blood started to run down her face.

"Tohru-kun you're bleeding." Shigure said in concern.

"Huh? Bleeding?" Tohru was sure what was going on.

"….ah" Kyo said not sure that what he should do. He hadn't meant to hurt her.

Yuki was next to Kyo in the blink of an eye. He smacked Kyo across the face hard enough to make him stumble backwards.

"So--" Tohru said in shock.

"I always knew you were a fool but this time you've really crossed the line."

Jus t this one time I'll overlook your stupidity," said Yuki unbuttoning the first button on his shirt and give you a real fight."

Kyo was looking down his check red from the slap.

"Kyo," Yuki said in a dangerous tone. "Make this worth my time."

Kyo clenched his fist. It a flash he kicked out at Yuki.

"Bring it on, Pretty-boy!" he yelled. Yuki already had his arms up in defense.

"Sohma-kun!" Tohru exclaimed. As she watched the two boys fight.

Shigure yawned.

"Oh, this again. Those two hate each other with a passion. They see each other, they fight."

Toru looked on in concern wish there was something that she could do.

"Right now you should be more concerned with stopping that bleeding."

Shigure pointed out the blood that had made it's way all the way down her face.

'Ah' thought Tohru.

'So that smile back then.' She thought remembering from the day before.

_"You hate cats?"_

'Was an 'obviously I despise the cat' smile' she realized

"Has this meeting changed you mind about wanting to be a cat?" Shigure asked with a small laugh.

"Um, uh, shouldn't we stop them?" Tohru asked wondering why Shigure and her were just sitting and watching the two fight.

"Hmm? Oh, no. It's almost over." Shigure said peeling the wrapper off of a Band-Aid. "At any rate, today will be another victory for Yuki-kun."

Kyo lunged at Yuki. Yuki was faster though. In a split second he blocked Kyo and managed to keep his balance. He moved in closer to Kyo, his face was inches away from Kyo's who looked slightly shocked. Then Kyo was flying as Yuki kicked him.

Tohru gasped in shock and Shigure put the band aid of Tohru's cut looking slightly distressed as Kyo flew thought the door.

He fell to the ground with a thump and Yuki turned around to face him.

"I thought I told you to make it worth my time." Yuki said with disgust stretching out his arm.

'He was sent flying!' Tohru though to herself.

"Yuki-kun, don't go destroying the house, too!" Shigure said sighing as he looked at the broken door.

"Sorry. I didn't think he'd fly that far. His guard is terrible." Yuki walked across the room and bent down near Tohru. "Honda-san are you okay?"

"Ah! I'm completely and totally fine!!" Tohru said not sure what to make of what had just happened.

"Um, but, he…!" Tohru said looking at Kyo who was lying in a bush in the garden.

"Oh, he'll be fine." Yuki said confidently, "Probably."

'And so I learned something else, the boy we call "The Prince" is strong'

'I'm more worried about the garden though.' Thought Yuki rubbing his hand.

'I knew he was good at P.E., but this is different. He sent him flying. It's like he's been holding back at school.' Tohru reflected.

'School." She thought trailing off.

"Aaahhh! School!" she jumped up in panic, "I'm going to be late!"

"School" but what are you will you wear? All your uniforms are covered in mud."

A few minutes later Tohru was wearing one of her school uniforms. All her cloths had been buried in the land slide. She had picked out the one that was least covered in mud. It was still very dirty though.

"It's okay, this one's not too muddy. I'll just tell everyone I fell!" she said enthusiastically.

'No one is going to buy that.' Thought both Yuki and Shigure.

"I'm sorry about this, but I have to get to school." Tohru apologized bowing her head to Shigure.

"Yes, yes. You made a promise to you mother." Shigure said waving off her apology.

"But for my part, I must tell Akito-san., the head of the Sohma family, what has happened here." Shigure said rubbing his chin, "The Sohma family secret has been revealed."

"Head of the family, he must be a very important person. Of course I understand." Tohru said truthfully with a small smile.

"Well I'm off." Tohru said making her way out of the house.

"A little chatty this morning, aren't you. You told her a lot about us." Yuki said.

"You plan on having Honda-san's memories suppressed don't you? Like the last time." He accused.

"I have no such plans." Shigure huffed. "Last time there were too many people involved. We had to take steps.

"I'm going to school too." Yuki said.

"You could at least fix the roof. Stupid cat." Yuki said then he too was gone to school.

"Kyo-kun look after things while we're gone and please, don't disappear again." Shigure said to Kyo who was still in the bushes. "Oh, and do apologize to Tohru-kun later."

"Shut up!" he said glaring at Shigure.

"Thank goodness I was able to use the school washing machine." Tohru said hugging her cloths close to her chest. She had a pair of gym cloths on.

"You looked terrible. Where did you fall anyways?" Uo asked with narrowed eyes, "In a pig pen."

"Oh, no." said Tohru embarrassed pushing her bangs away slightly.

"Pity you washed your uniform." A girl from the prince Yuki fan club said as she breezed past Tohru and her friends. "The mud looked so good on you."

Hana crackled with bad electrical waves chasing the petty girl away.

"The prince is late today, too. No wonder they're more suspicious than usual." Uo said using her hand to brush some hair out of her eyes.

"What a lame put down." She added.

'I can't tell her I'm staying in the Prince's house.' thought Tohru guiltily.

"I-I'm going to go change in the locker room." Tohru said

Hana peeked into the room having finished chasing the obsessed fan-girl.

"Thank you, Hana-chan." Tohru said.

"You want me to go with you?" Hana asked.

"Eheh! That's okay." Tohru said happy that her friends cared do much.

"Honda-san."

Tohru turned around. She had just come out of the girl's locker room and she heard someone say her name.

Leaning against the wall behind her was Yuki.

"You didn't tell them, did you?" Yuki asked he had a strange look on his face, "Your friend. About us?"

"Tell them?" Tohru said confused for a moment before realizing what he was talking about.

"No! I didn't!" Tohru said adamantly. "Am I making you nervous?! I'm a liability aren't I?!"

"I would never tell anyone! My mom always told me that gossiping is wrong." She said wanting Yuki to know how she felt.

"No, it's not that." He said looking down.

"I promise!" she said pulling up her sleeve and grabbing her bare arm, "I'll sign my name in blood or burn myself with a cigarette or anything you want! I'm pretty sure my mom did stuff like that."

"No, I told you it's not that." Yuki said in protest.

"What kind of person was her mother?" he wondered.

He walked towards her with his arm slightly outstretched.

"You're going through all this trouble to keep our secret. But it may not be enough." Yuki said. He had Tohru pinned against the wall with a hand on either side of her.

"Huh?" she was confused

"I'm sorry, but your memories might have to be erased."

Confusion flashed through her eyes.

"I say "erased" but it's more like hypnosis." Yuki said still without looking Tohru in the eyes.

"A long time ago, our secret got out, like it did today. I was in second grade."

"We were playing in the garden at the main house. A girl got carried away and hugged me. It caused such a commotion that eventually they had to suppress the memories of everyone who was there." Yuki explained in a lonely voice.

"_Akito. Am I so strange that we have to suppress the memories of people to hide it?" A small Yuki asked._

"_Yes, you're strange." Akito answer back in a cold tone._

"_Is it not strange for a boy to turn into a rat? If normal people knew you secret it would sicken them. They'd stay away from you. You would be forced to live alone." Akito answered cruelly._

"Sohma-kun" Tohru said gently seeing how lonely Yuki's face looked.

"I cannot defy Akito's wishes. What he decides is what must be done." Yuki said looking away from Tohru.

Tohru had her head turned towards the wall and wasn't saying anything.

"Sohma-kun, you tie is crooked." Tohru noticed after it had been deemed safe for her to turn back around.

"Eh?" said Yuki at the poorly tied tie.

"Oh…I'm terrible at this kind of thing." He said looking tiredly down at the tie.

Tohru laughed lightly.

"That surprises me. It's my turn to help you!" Tohru said happily as she fixed his tie.

"_If normal people knew you secret it would sicken them. They'd stay away."_

"Honda-san." Yuki asked his voice slightly strained. "You're not…sickened by me?"

"Nope I'm fine!" She said enthusiastically thinking he had asked her if she was sick.

"…Hey, do you want to walk home together?" Yuki asked.

"Okay!" Tohru said smiling.

"Let's go home!" She said with enthusiasm.

"Will you still be my friend?"

"Thank you." Yuki said looking Tohru in the face.

"Anytime! I'm good at tying neckties." Tohru said earnestly.

"It looks like Shigure isn't home yet." Said Yuki opening the door to his room

"I'm going to put my stuff in my room." Tohru said zooming down the hallway towards her room.

Once she was there thought she saw that the door was already opened. She went inside to see that Kyo was fixing the hole in the ceiling. He was finishing taping up a tarp

"It's just a patch job. That should keep the rain out. All a pro if you don't like it." He said carelessly. There was a large scrape on his check from when he had fought with Yuki that morning.

"O-okay." Tohru stuttered.

'So I've finally met the cat.' Thought Tohru, 'Too bad he hates me.'

"Hey!" said Kyo loudly.

"Y-yes!" Tohru said wondering what he wanted.

"When I get mad…when I get in a rage I can't see what's around me." He was squeezing the role of tape.

"My training wasn't enough. I still lost to that damn Yuki." He said forcefully like he was angry at something.

"So that's why this morning…this morning! I'm sorr—"

"I'M HOME! Yuki-kun, Tohru-kun I'm home!" yelled Shigure through the house. "Oh, and lets not forget stupid-clumsy-Kyo-kun-who-lost-another-fight."

"Forget it!" Kyo yelled storming out of the room.

"But?! Wha-?!" Tohru said confused and wondering what he had been about to say.

"Good news." Shigure said as he put on a heavier robe. "As long as she keeps our secret Tohru-kun can stay."

"I won't be punished?!" Tohru exclaimed in slight shock. She was sitting on the floor looking up at Shigure in amazement.

Yuki was leaning against the wall with a slight shocked expression on his face also.

"Punished!?" Shigure said wondering why Tohru thought she would be punished.

"But you absolutely must keep out secret! Kay?"

"Okay!" Tohru agreed.

'I won't lose my memories' thought Tohru excitedly.

"There is one more thing--" Shigure said looking at Kyo who was also in the room though he wasn't there because he wanted to be.

"He wants Kyo-kun to stay here too.

"What?" Growled kyo turning to glare daggers at Shigure. "I have to live under the same roof as that damn Yuki?!"

"Don't blame me." Said Shigure said completely oblivious to Kyo's anger. "Akito-san's word is law."

"You've got to be kidding me! Dammit, Akito." Kyo yelled cursing Akito.

"He's trying to collar that Stupid cat." Yuki said moving closer to Shigure. "I knew there'd be a catch."

"But to involve Tohru…" He said giving Shigure a calculating look. "You and Akito…aren't _scheming_ anything are you?"

Shigure looked off to the side and didn't answer him.

_I'll trust this Tohru-san. This may even prove fortuitous to Yuki and kyo... and for me." Akito said to Shigure holding his finger up and eyeing the small white bird cleaning it's feathers there. _

"_Yuki does have good instincts but still…proceed with caution." Akito said with a light undirected laugh._

"Nooo…don't be silly!" Shigure said after a second. "Really Yuki-kun. You must learn to be more trusting of other people—"

"Excuse me…" Said Tohru breaking in with a small bow.

"Um…It's strange to say the again, but, I am at your mercy" she said, "Thank you once again of taking care of me."

"Yeah." Said Yuki softly rubbing his shoulder and looking way. "Our mercy…"

"I am in debt to you too, Kyo-san." Tohru said politely to the still fuming Kyo.

He whipped his head around and yelled at her

"Why should I be nice to anyone in this…"

"…House?!" he concluded in shock as he found himself on the receiving end of one of Yuki's kick and suddenly flying through the door again.

**And that was how I, Tohru Honda, was taken into the care of the Sohma family**

Authors notes: Thank you to kasiake-chan, mousecat, hanajima44, yuki'l-lil-sis, and black butterfly13 for reviewing.

Also I'm not really sure if this answers Hanajima44's question but I'll type all of the chapters by book. For each individual book I'll make a new story to keep things simple. I plan on buying all the books so even if it takes a little while after I finish the writing the first book(And if it worth it) I'll go and buy at least the second book, which I'll do anyways…sorry if that doesn't answer you question.

Anyways please review. Another five reviews would really make my day. ;)


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. 

Summery: This is a writtem version of the manga. I'm sorry if anyone doesn't like it. I only wanted to try my hand at something like this. I'll keep it as much to the book as possible.

'...'--thoughts

"..." regular speaking

**Bold**--Tohru's narration

_Italics_--Dreams or memorories

Chapter 3

"Wow…" Yuki said as he looked into the clean kitchen. "You've worked wonders in this kitchen!"

The once garbage filled kitchen was now spotless. There wasn't a single piece of trash anywhere in the room. It was amazing that it was possible that Tohru had managed to do some much work in one day.

"I did my best." Tohru whipped some of the hair that was sticking to her forehead away, "dinner is ready!"

"We have a rice maker?" Yuki said looking down at said object.

"I unearthed it." Tohru explained happily.

So it was decided that I would stay at Sohma-kun's house.

They provided my room and board, and in exchange, all the housework is left to me. It's a great setup—I owe them so much

I want to do a good job

"Yeah. This is good." Yuki said sampling everything that Tohru had made.

"Really?" Tohru said slightly worried. "It's not too bland?"

"No it's perfect." Yuki said honestly. "It's been a long time since I've had food like this."

'Thank goodness.' Thought Tohru letting out a small sigh of relief Yuki thought her food was okay.

"Anyway, I wonder where Shigure and that stupid cat went." Though, the tone of his voice indicated that he was glad that they weren't there.

"That's right. They left really early, but it's getting late." Tohru said realizing how long the other two had been gone for.

"Not that I care. But it would be a shame for the food you made to get cold." Yuki said taking another bite.

'Mom, this is kind of strange. I'm eating dinner with Sohma-kun, who transforms into the rat from the zodiac legend. It's like a fairy tale.' Thought Tohru realizing how strange it was to be sitting at the table to peacefully.

"You went out earlier, too, didn't you Sohma-kun?" Tohru said with a smile across the table to Yuki who was thoroughly enjoying dinner, "Were you shopping?"

"Oh I was in the backyard," He paused for a moment, "in my secret base."

"Secret base?! That sounds exciting!" Tohru said a picture in her mind of a house in the middle of nowhere. Everything in the secret base was secretly hidden from the toilet to the cannons.

"It's not what you think." Yuki said seeing the daydreaming look on Tohru's face, "but if you want I'll show you next time."

"Really? Are you sure?! I'm so happy! A secret base!" Tohru's eyes were shining with excitement at the prospect of seeing the secret base.

"I knew of one when I was a little girl but girls weren't allowed. I can't wait!"

Yuki smiled at Tohru softly from across the table at her excitement.

"Shut up!" Kyo yelled slamming the front door open and storming through the house effectively shattering the peaceful atmosphere.

"Just listen to me for a second Kyo." Shigure said following kyo in and trying to reason with him.

"I hate this!" he yelled, "Do you really get that much enjoyment from playing with people's lives?!"

"Well, you, now that you mention it, I do." Shigure said truthfully. "But this is for you own good!"

"Man your persuasive skills suck!" Yelled Kyo back at Shigure.

"Um welcome home. Dinners--" Tohru started welcoming Kyo home.

"Not Hungry!" Kyo Yelled turning around for a moment then storming upstairs.

Tohru stared at the spot that Kyo had just been standing in, in shock.

"KYO!" Scolded Shigure, "Don't take this out on Tohru-kun!"

"And come back to the entrance hall this instant and take those shoes off!" Yelled Shigure event though he was taking his off in the house.

"He's right, Shigure." Yuki said after taking a bite of rice. "You really do suck at persuasion."

"This is the first time I've seen you in a suit. You look really nice…!" Tohru said admiring the black suit that Shigure was wearing.

"Really?" Do you think so?" Shigure said rubbing his chin. Tohru comment had inflated his ego."

"You look like a talk show host." Yuki said flatly.

"Ah! Dinners ready." Shigure said happily taking off his coat.

"Uh, um, why is Kyo-san…?" Questioned Tohru.

"Oh, that." Said Shigure sitting down, "Best to leave grumpy-puss alone."

"I tricked him into taking an entrance exam."

"Entrance exam?" Tohru tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Starting tomorrow, kyo-kun…" Shigure paused for a moment before declaring. "Will be attending the same high school as you two."

"**_Don't eat. Don't come near me. Don't ever speak to me again_**." Yuki said menacingly standing up over Shigure painting the perfect picture of fury.

"Yes well I thought you'd be angry and I was right." Shigure said with an uneasy laugh.

"Last time kyo took the test, he didn't attend the local boys' high school, even though he passed. Instead, he went missing for four months." Shigure explained as Tohru and Yuki put away the dinner dishes.

"Neither Yuki-kun nor I nor anyone else knew where he went. Today he finally told me. He'd been training in the mountains."

"Training?" Tohru said with a blank look.

"Like sitting under a waterfall and wrestling bears? That kind of training." Yuki said looking like he couldn't believe that kyo had actually been training in the mountains.

"Hmmm…well, something like that…I guess." Shigure said. Kyo hadn't actually told Shigure what kind of trailing he had been doing.

"What is he going to do," Tohru asked curious, "With his training?"

"Kyo wants to beat Yuki-kun in a fight." Shigure said to Tohru, "ever since they were little, he has been Kyo's rival.

"That idiot." Yuki said closing his eyes and looking down with disdain.

'He wants to beat Sohma-kun do badly that he went to the mountains to train. It is because he holds a grudge about being tricked, like in the story.' wondered Tohru sadly, 'I feel it would be wrong to ask Kyo-san.'

'Anyway. I think Kyo-san hates me. It's kind of sad. I finally meet the cat from the zodiac…'

"Where?! Where is he?!"

"Look over there! The guy with the orange hair."

"Huh?! They don't look alike at all!"

"He's cute!"

"Is that his natural hair color?"

"Hey, are you really Sohma-kun's cousin?!"

"Do you guys get along?!" A girl demanded nosily.

'He's getting scared...!" Thought Tohru in distress as she watched Kyo being mobbed by a hoard of curious girls.

"Yuki-kun!" A girl said next to Yuki giggling softly with her friend.

"Is it true your cousin just transfered here? Introduce us!" She asked quickly with another bout of giggles.

"I'm sorry senpai. He is my cousin, but we're not close." Yuki said slightly apologetically with a strange smile on his face. "I don't even speak to him."

'That smile...' thought Tohru seeing the dislike of Kyo behind Yuki's smile.

Hana was behind her with a curling iron working on de-straightening Tohru's hair.

"His hair is certainly interesting." Uo said conversationally.

"It's a little like Kyoko-san's hair color." She observed with a small smile.

"Now that you mention it, it is." Said Tohru with bright eyes clasping her hands in front of her.

"They're the same." Hana said releasing another curl.

"The same, the very same..." Hana said mysteriously, another strand of Tohru's hair already curled with the iron. "I feel the same waves from him as i do Yuki Sohma."

"Those waves i sense...What do they mean?" She mused aloud. "So different for the others...Almost inhuman..."

Tohru felt a shiver run down her spine as Hana spoke.

"Hey, that's rude." Uo chastised lightly.

'Hana-chan is very powerful to sense thing no one else can. But i have to admit, i never understand her wave report.' Tohru thought lost in her musings.

"Sohma-kun?" A girl asked questioningly as Kyo stood up from his desk and started to stalk off.

"Hey, where are you going?" The girl said friendly grabbing Kyo's arm in an attempt to stop him from leaving. "Let's talk!"

It took less than a second for Kyo to move and pin the girl on the ground.

"kuaaaaaa!" The girl shrieked from her pinned position "Ow! That hurts!"

Kyo held her down completely out of it. A cornered look gracing his face.

"Kyo!" Tohru said in shock.

"Sohma-kun, what's wrong?"

"Just chill okay." Said one of the students

"Let go!" The girl pinned on the ground said.

"Leave me alone!" Kyo shouted releasing the girl. He sprang toward the window and opened it in one fluid motion.

"Eeeek!!"

"Stop! This is the second floor!" A girl screamed in horror as Kyo jumped out the window.

Kyo landed nimbly on the ground and immediately broke out running away from the school building.

The second his foot hit the ground the classroom was immediately split between the admiring and slightly horrified nonadmiring students.

"Amazing!" One girl exclaimed. "Did you see that?! Just like Sohma-kun's cousin to be special!"

"Special." Retorted one girl in disbelief. "He's a freak! This is the second floor!"

"ooooh! How dare he pick on a girl." moaned the girl who Kyo had pinned down rubbing her shoulder from where he had tweaked it.

"Interesting guy." Said Uo with a small laugh. "Ha ha! It's not everyday you see a guy jump from the second floor window."

Tohru stood stock still feeling horrified for Kyo and Hana continued to curl Tohru's hair like nothing had happened.

Kyo sat behind the school building sitting on the edge of a step feeling out of breath. He sat on looking down and hating having to be at school.

"Hey."

Kyo looked up to see Yuki looking down at him with disdain.

"Use your head, will you?" He said with irritation. "If you act like an idiot, it causes problems for me."

"Are you insane? Why do you go to a school...That's crawling with girls?" Kyo asked in distress and confusion.

"Because it's better than hiding in fear every day, and going to an all boy's school on Akito's orders." Yuki shot back.

"I want out of the Sohma cage, even just a little bit." Yuki said with longing. "I can't understand why you want so badly to live in that cage."

"...You...A rat would never understand!" Kyo said darkly.

'Ahh! there they are!" Tohru thought seeing Yuki and Kyo behind the school together.

"This time, I **will** beat you!" Kyo yelled standing up ready to attack. "I'll beat you and become one of the Zodiac."

Tohru stopped walking toward the two boys amazed at what she was hearing.

"I won't be shunned by the Sohma family any longer!" Kyo seethed.

'one of the Zodiac.'

'become one of the Zodiac?'

"I will beat you." Kyo yelled springing forward and catching Yuki by the collar.

"No!" Tohru gasped in shock.

'you musn't'

Tohru ran forward and caught Kyo around the waist. The transformation was immediate and once again Tohru was holding an orange cat.

"I'm sorry!" Tohru said in sham sinking to her knees and letting go of a furious Kyo.

"I know you're angry...but you can't keep fighting." She said quickly looking at the ground. "P-people get in trouble for fighting in school..."

"Would you shut up?!" Screeched Kyo his fur standing on end. "I don't care if i get in trouble, as long as i beat Yuki! Stay out of my way! What's with you?!"

"Kyo..." Yuki said trailing off.

"I can't even stand to look at you!" He half yelled half hissed.

Tohru sat there looking shocked. she waited for a moment before standing up and fleeing leaving Yuki and a horrified feeling Kyo behind.

'His maximum fury!' thought Tohru feeling miserable and shocked as she fled. 'He hates me. He totally hates me!'

"You know..." Yuki said as he started to walk away. "You really are an idiot."

"You're not gonna hit me?" Kyo asked glumly.

"There are times when it hurts more not to." Yuki said quietly before leaving."

"I've decided that i'm going to stop being a dog and be a cat!'

'I meant it. I really was crying. When god and the twelve animals were enjoying the banquet on the far off mountain...'

'...the cat was dreaming of a banquet the next day that would never happen. Poor thing--sleeping soundly unaware of the deceit. ' Thought Tohru sadly a small amount of tears pooling at the corners of her eyes.

She was sitting in an abandoned hall way feeling miserable and like she was to blame for Kyo yelling at her.

'I liked him so much that if there were a year of the cat club i would have joined. But he hates me' She thought sadly.

Yuki turned around the corner and was worried to see Tohru sitting on the ground looking miserable. Before he could do anything though Uo and Hana showed up.

"Tohruuuu!" Called Uo.

"I'm picking up on Tohru-kun's waves!" Hana said pointing a finger at Tohru as the came from the opposite direction that Yuki had.

"Ah! there she is." Uo said "What are you doing there? Class is about to--"

Uo cut off shortly when Tohru tried to stand up suddenly and hit her head on the corner of a utility box hanging on the wall.

"Ow!" Tohru said grasping her head in pain.

"It hurt so much i started crying." Tohru said trying to cover up the fact that she had been crying before she had stood up. "no really, just now...this corner...Ouch!"

"If i didn't know better i'd say you ran into it on purpose." Uo said looking at Tohru with a raised eyebrow.

"Now, now don't' spoil her cover up." Hana said lightly.

Yuki stood watching the a moment before silently leaving.

"And? You cut your first day of class? Let me guess. you tried to fight Yuki-kun and lost. Again." Shigure said blandly to Kyo.

"I...I just want to leave this house." miserably from where he was lying on the floor.

"It's only the third day. think of it as more training." Shigure said encouragingly jotting something down on the paper in front of him.

"I only ever say...really mean things...to her." Kyo said softly.

"Her...? You mean Tohru-kun?" Shigure asked. "Heh, so you were in your usual good mood today?"

"If you're going to beat yourself up about it afterward perhaps you should consider not yelling at her in the first place, hm?"

"Just a thought." Shigure said offhandedly.

"I can't help it." Kyo said looking out at the garden. "i'm...not made for interacting with people."

"People aren't born social. Sure t come easier to some people...But most people, like you, need to work at it some more than others. You're just inexperience." Shigure explained easily as he pulled a fresh piece of paper in front of himself. "For example, a s a martial artist, you have the strength to break the table with your fist."

"But you also have the _self-control _to stop you fist right before it the the table." Shigure continued. "You weren't born with that control were you? you had to refine it. thats the result of fighting bears in the mountains."

"I didn't fight bears!" Kyo said furiously turning his head to look at Shigure.

"You're missing my point." Shigure said ignoring his retort. "It's the same as interacting with people. But training for that isn't the mountain--it has to be in town where people live."

"Mingling with people, hurting them, getting hurt by them...that's how you learn about others, and about yourself. If you don't you'll never be able to care about anyone but yourself. You may be a black belt fighter, but you're still a white belt in dealing with people."

"For the sake of the girl who will one day tells you she loves you...Don't keep running away." Shigure said with emphasis.

"Hmph. As if someone would ever tell me that." Kyo snorted.

"Hehe and if someone did, what would you do." Shigure said with a small laugh.

"I can't even imagine. I guess..I'd ask her if she was sane." Kyo answered looking down at the hard wood of the back porch.

"Oh really." Shigure said with a smile as he turned over another page.

"I'm home." Yuki said strolling into the room

Kyo started to get up immediately feeling anger and another feeling not dissimilar to shame at Yuki for just being in the same room.

"Hey, welcome back. Where's Tohru-kun?" Shigure asked friendly looking up from his papers for a moment.

"Work. She said dinner's made, we just have to warm it up."

"She gets off around eleven, so i think i'll walk her home." Yuki said as he went up the stair to the second floor.

"Ah, yes. good idea. What with all of **perverts** creeping around at night." Shigure said with a laugh and smile.

'What a long day,' Tohru thought as she walked through the woods on her way home. 'I wonder if everyone's asleep.

'I wonder if Kyo-kun skipped dinner again. Is he still mad at me? Did he leave the house...?'Tohru worried frantically.

'what should i do mom?' Tohru wondered sadly remembering the things Kyo had said to her earlier.

"Tohru you should be yourself"

'Okay'

"Okay mom." Tohru said out loud softly but with commitment holding her bag close to her chest as her eyes became wet again

'i won' let it get to me.'

Suddenly Tohru heard something move off the path making a bush rustle.

'Wh-what was that?' Tohru thought her heart racing frantically.

'Oh, no' Tohru thought as an idea struck her. ' could it be one of those creeps they warned me about? A pervert?!'

"Nooo!" Shrieked Tohru swinging her school bag and feeling it come into contact with something very solid.

Tohru looked up to see her bag resting against the side of Kyo's head and the cat looking very confused.

'How do i explain that i mistook him for a pervert?! i just screamed "No!" at him and...!" Tohru thought her mind racing frantically.

' "NO!", man she must really hate me. Was it something i said?' Kyo wondered feeling confused.

"uh-uh-uh-um..." Tohru stammered. "I just hit you with my bag...but i guess you know that."

"But enough about me! Were you taking a walk Kyo-san?" Tohru asked trying to change the conversation. "Uh, um...How did you...like school, Kyo-san...?"

"Stop it." Kyo said bluntly.

"Being called "san" makes me twitch." He said looking away from Tohru. "Just call me Kyo."

"Kyo-kun?" Tohru said softly.

"Huh? What?" Kyo asked.

"Nothing! I just wanted to try it."

"Ah. Oh...never mind. It's okay."

"You can call my name even in you don't have anything to say." Kyo said rubbing his forehead not really sure what to do.

"And...I take back what I said about not wanting to look at you. And if i do something to piss you off...you can hit me." Kyo said with difficultly while Tohru listened with confused curiosity.

'Is he.' A thought came to her. 'trying to apologize for today?'

Kyo stood in front of her looking embarrassed and frustrated. He kept rubbing his forehead and a small blush graced his cheeks.

'Is that why he's here?' Wondered Tohru and realizing something.

'And back then,' She remembered how he had been fixing the celling in her room. 'Maybe he was trying to apologize for hurting me.'

"Uh, um..." Tohru stammered. "Oh--I wasn't mad. i hit you with my bag because I thought you were a pervert!"

"P-Pervert?" Kyo stuttered looking disturbed.

"I mean, I'd never be mad at you." Tohru corrected herself realizing how bad her las statement sounded. "How could i be? I love you. I've always loved the cat from the Zodiac." "Huh?" Kyo looked at Tohru utterly confused.

"It's true. I...I wanted to be born in the year of the cat." Tohru said with force leaning toward Tohru.

"I mean, um, I..." Tohru said quickly not really sure what she was talking about she was going so fast. "I want to be friends."

Kyo looked shocked. He starred at Tohru like he might bolt any second.

'And if someone did, what would you do?'

'If a girl told you she loved you'

Shigure's early words rang through his head.

"That's stu--!" Kyo cut off.

"It's not that great." He said turing his cheeks flaming. "Being a cat." "Let's just go home." he said starting to walk.

'Somehow...I've started to understand Kyo-kun." Tohru thought watchin Kyo. "He's more awkward than most...but deep down he's a nice person."

'Someone sincere who speaks from the heart." Thought Tohru with a smile. "A good person."

"Do Kyo-kun...I hear you walked our little Tohru home. How was your _date_?" Shigure asked in a sweet voice as soon as Kyo was up the next morning.

"Kyo-kun and Tohru sitting in a tree...K...I...S" Shigure sang.

"Stop that! It wasn't like that!" Yelled Kyo blushing furiously.

"Yesterday was a fluke. It won't happen again. Ever!" He yelled Still blushing.

"Okay." Tohru agreed with a smile.

"I'm just happy your eating my food." She exclaimed happily. "Do you like it?"

"Huh? Uh..." Kyo trailed off looking down at the food. "It's..."

"What?!" Kyo yelled at Shigure who he noticed staring at him.

"nothing." Shigure said looking down at his food and glancing up quickly at him once.

"Will you quite staring at my?!" Kyo yelled

"I was just looking." Shigure said moving his food around.

"Well, cut it out!" He yelled furiously.

"You don't like it." Tohru said deflating.

"It sucks!" He yelled slamming his chopsticks down on the table.

"Ah." He realized what he just said and the crushed looked Tohru was giving him.

"I-it's okay." Kyo said quickly. "I timed that poorly."

Things shoud be a lot happier around the Sohma house from now on.--Well hopefully--you can never tell.

"He...Makes me sick." thought Yuki sipping his tea.

And so Kyo and I Became Friends.

"Where?! Where is he?!"

"Look over there! The guy with the orange hair."

"Huh?! They don't look alike at all!"

"He's cute!"

"Is that his natural hair color?"

"Hey, are you really Sohma-kun's cousin?!"

"Do you guys get along?!" A girl demanded nosily.

'He's getting scared...!" Thought Tohru in distress as she watched Kyo being mobbed by a hoard of curious girls.

"Yuki-kun!" A girl said next to Yuki giggling softly with her friend.

"Is it true your cousin just transfered here? Introduce us!" She asked quickly with another bout of giggles.

"I'm sorry senpai. He is my cousin, but we're not close." Yuki said slightly apologetically with a strange smile on his face. "I don't even speak to him."

'That smile...' thought Tohru seeing the dislike of Kyo behind Yuki's smile.

Hana was behind her with a curling iron working on de-straightening Tohru's hair.

"His hair is certainly interesting." Uo said conversationally.

"It's a little like Kyoko-san's hair color." She observed with a small smile.

"Now that you mention it, it is." Said Tohru with bright eyes clasping her hands in front of her.

"They're the same." Hana said releasing another curl.

"The same, the very same..." Hana said mysteriously, another strand of Tohru's hair already curled with the iron. "I feel the same waves from him as i do Yuki Sohma."

"Those waves i sense...What do they mean?" She mused aloud. "So different for the others...Almost inhuman..."

Tohru felt a shiver run down her spine as Hana spoke.

"Hey, that's rude." Uo chastised lightly.

'Hana-chan is very powerful to sense thing no one else can. But i have to admit, i never understand her wave report.' Tohru thought lost in her musings.

"Sohma-kun?" A girl asked questioningly as Kyo stood up from his desk and started to stalk off.

"Hey, where are you going?" The girl said friendly grabbing Kyo's arm in an attempt to stop him from leaving. "Let's talk!"

It took less than a second for Kyo to move and pin the girl on the ground.

"kuaaaaaa!" The girl shrieked from her pinned position "Ow! That hurts!"

Kyo held her down completely out of it. A cornered look gracing his face.

"Kyo!" Tohru said in shock.

"Sohma-kun, what's wrong?"

"Just chill okay." Said one of the students

"Let go!" The girl pinned on the ground said.

"Leave me alone!" Kyo shouted releasing the girl. He sprang toward the window and opened it in one fluid motion.

"Eeeek!!"

"Stop! This is the second floor!" A girl screamed in horror as Kyo jumped out the window.

Kyo landed nimbly on the ground and immediately broke out running away from the school building.

The second his foot hit the ground the classroom was immediately split between the admiring and slightly horrified nonadmiring students.

"Amazing!" One girl exclaimed. "Did you see that?! Just like Sohma-kun's cousin to be special!"

"Special." Retorted one girl in disbelief. "He's a freak! This is the second floor!"

"ooooh! How dare he pick on a girl." moaned the girl who Kyo had pinned down rubbing her shoulder from where he had tweaked it.

"Interesting guy." Said Uo with a small laugh. "Ha ha! It's not everyday you see a guy jump from the second floor window."

Tohru stood stock still feeling horrified for Kyo and Hana continued to curl Tohru's hair like nothing had happened.

Kyo sat behind the school building sitting on the edge of a step feeling out of breath. He sat on looking down and hating having to be at school.

"Hey."

Kyo looked up to see Yuki looking down at him with disdain.

"Use your head, will you?" He said with irritation. "If you act like an idiot, it causes problems for me."

"Are you insane? Why do you go to a school...That's crawling with girls?" Kyo asked in distress and confusion.

"Because it's better than hiding in fear every day, and going to an all boy's school on Akito's orders." Yuki shot back.

"I want out of the Sohma cage, even just a little bit." Yuki said with longing. "I can't understand why you want so badly to live in that cage."

"...You...A rat would never understand!" Kyo said darkly.

'Ahh! there they are!" Tohru thought seeing Yuki and Kyo behind the school together.

"This time, I **will** beat you!" Kyo yelled standing up ready to attack. "I'll beat you and become one of the Zodiac."

Tohru stopped walking toward the two boys amazed at what she was hearing.

"I won't be shunned by the Sohma family any longer!" Kyo seethed.

'one of the Zodiac.'

'become one of the Zodiac?'

"I will beat you." Kyo yelled springing forward and catching Yuki by the collar.

"No!" Tohru gasped in shock.

'you musn't'

Tohru ran forward and caught Kyo around the waist. The transformation was immediate and once again Tohru was holding an orange cat.

"I'm sorry!" Tohru said in sham sinking to her knees and letting go of a furious Kyo.

"I know you're angry...but you can't keep fighting." She said quickly looking at the ground. "P-people get in trouble for fighting in school..."

"Would you shut up?!" screeched Kyo his fur standing on end. "I don't care if i get in trouble, as long as i beat Yuki! Stay out of my way! What's with you?!"

"Kyo..." Yuki said trailing off.

"I can't even stand to look at you!" He half yelled half hissed.

Tohru sat there looking shocked. she waited for a moment before standing up and fleeing leaving Yuki and a horrified feeling Kyo behind.

'His maximum fury!' thought Tohru feeling miserable and shocked as she fled. 'He hates me. He totally hates me!'

"You know..." Yuki said as he started to walk away. "You really are an idiot."

"You're not gonna hit me?" Kyo asked glumly.

"There are times when it hurts more not to." Yuki said quietly before leaving."

"I've decided that i'm going to stop being a dog and be a cat!'

'I meant it. I really was crying. When god and the twelve animals were enjoying the banquet on the far off mountain...'

'...the cat was dreaming of a banquet the next day that would never happen. Poor thing--sleeping soundly unaware of the deceit. ' Thought Tohru sadly a small amount of tears pooling at the corners of her eyes.

She was sitting in an abandoned hall way feeling miserable and like she was to blame for Kyo yelling at her.

'I liked him so much that if there were a year of the cat club i would have joined. But he hates me' She thought sadly.

Yuki turned around the corner and was worried to see Tohru sitting on the ground looking miserable. Before he could do anything though Uo and Hana showed up.

"Tohruuuu!" Called Uo.

"I'm picking up on Tohru-kun's waves!" Hana said pointing a finger at Tohru as the came from the opposite direction that Yuki had.

"Ah! there she is." Uo said "What are you doing there? Class is about to--"

Uo cut off shortly when Tohru tried to stand up suddenly and hit her head on the corner of a utility box hanging on the wall.

"Ow!" Tohru said grasping her head in pain.

"It hurt so much i started crying." Tohru said trying to cover up the fact that she had been crying before she had stood up. "no really, just now...this corner...Ouch!"

"If i didn't know better i'd say you ran into it on purpose." Uo said looking at Tohru with a raised eyebrow.

"Now, now dont' spoil her cover up." Hana said lightly.

Yuki stood watching the a moment before silently leaving.

"And? You cut your first day of class? Let me guess. you tried to fight Yuki-kun and lost. Again." Shigure said blandly to Kyo.

"I...I just want to leave this house." miserably from where he was lying on the floor.

"It's only the third day. think of it as more training." Shigure said encouragingly jotting something down on the paper in front of him.

"I only ever say...really mean things...to her." Kyo said softly.

"Her...? You mean Tohru-kun?" Shigure asked. "Heh so you were in your usual good mood today?"

"If you're going to beat yourself up about it afterward perhaps you should consider not yelling at her in the first place, hm?"

"Just a thought." Shigure said offhandedly.

"I can't help it." Kyo said looking out at the garden. "i'm...not made for interacting with people."

"People aren't born social. Sure t come easier to some people...But most people, like you, need to work at it some more than others. You're just inexperience." Shigure explained easily as he pulled a fresh piece of paper in front of himself. "For example, a s a martial artist, you have the strength to break the table with your fist."

"But you also have the _self-control _to stop you fist right before it hits the table." Shigure continued. "You weren't born with that control were you? you had to refine it. thats the result of fighting bears in the mountains."

"I didn't fight bears!" Kyo said furiously turning his head to look at Shigure.

"You're missing my point." Shigure said ignoring his retort. "It's the same as interacting with people. But training for that isn't the mountain--it has to be in town where people live."

"Mingling with people, hurting them, getting hurt by them...that's how you learn about others, and about yourself. If you don't you'll never be able to care about anyone but yourself. You may be a black belt fighter, but you're still a white belt in dealing with people."

"For the sake of the girl who will one day tell you she loves you...Don't keep running away." Shigure said with emphasis.

"Hmph. As if someone would ever tell me that." Kyo snorted.

"Hehe and if someone did, what would you do." Shigure said with a small laugh.

"I can't even imagine. I guess..I'd ask her if she was sane." Kyo answered looking down at the hard wood of the back porch.

"Oh really." Shigure said with a smile as he turned over another page.

"I'm home." Yuki said strolling into the room

Kyo started to get up immediately feeling anger and another feeling not dissimilar to shame at Yuki for just being in the same room.

"Hey, welcome back. Where's Tohru-kun?" Shigure asked friendly looking up from his papers for a moment.

"Work. She said dinner's made, we just have to warm it up."

"She gets off around eleven, so i think i'll walk her home." Yuki said as he went up the stair to the second floor.

"Ah, yes. good idea. What with all of **perverts** creeping around at night." Shigure said with a laugh and smile.

'What a long day,' Tohru thought as she walked through the woods on her way home. 'I wonder if everyone's asleep.

'I wonder if Kyo-kun skipped dinner again. Is he still mad at me? Did he leave the house...?'Tohru worried frantically.

'what should i do mom?' Tohru wondered sadly remembering the things Kyo had said to her earlier.

"Tohru you should be yourself"

'Okay'

"Okay mom." Tohru said out loud softly but with commitment holding her bag close to her chest as her eyes became wet Alain

'i won' let it get to me.'

Suddenly Tohru heard something move off the path making a bush rustle.

'Wh-what was that?' Tohru thought her heart racing frantically.

'Oh, no' Tohru thought as an idea struck her. ' could it be one of those creeps they warned me about? A pervert?!'

"Nooo!" Shrieked Tohru swinging her school bag and feeling it come into contact with something very solid.

Tohru looked up to see her bag resting against the side of Kyo's head and the cat looking very confused.

'How do i explain that i mistook him for a pervert?! i just screamed "No!" at him and...!" Tohru thought her mind racing frantically.

' "NO!", man she must really hate me. Was it something i said?' Kyo wondered feeling confused.

"uh-uh-uh-um..." Tohru stammered. "I just hit you with my bag...but i guess you know that."

"But enough about me! Were you taking a walk Kyo-san?" Tohru asked trying to change the conversation. "Uh, um...How did you...like school, Kyo-san...?"

"Stop it." Kyo said bluntly.

"Being called "san" makes me twitch." He said looking away from Tohru. "Just call me Kyo."

"Kyo-kun?" Tohru said softly.

"Huh? What?" Kyo asked.

"Nothing! I just wanted to try it."

"Ah. Oh...never mind. It's okay."

"You can call my name even in you don't have anything to say." Kyo said rubbing his forehead not really sure what to do.

"And...I take back what I said about not wanting to look at you. And if i do something to piss you off...you can hit me." Kyo said with difficultly while Tohru listened with confused curiosity.

'Is he.' A thought came to her. 'trying to apologize for today?'

Kyo stood in front of her looking embarrassed and frustrated. He kept rubbing his forehead and a small blush graced his cheeks.

'Is that why he's here?' Wondered Tohru and realizing something.

'And back then,' She remembered how he had been fixing the celling in her room. 'Maybe he was trying to apologize for hurting me.'

"Uh, um..." Tohru stammered. "Oh--I wasn't mad. i hit you with my bag because I thought you were a pervert!"

"P-Pervert?" Kyo stuttered looking disturbed.

"I mean, I'd never be mad at you." Tohru corrected herself realizing how bad her las statement sounded. "How could i be? I love you. I've always loved the cat from the Zodiac." "Huh?" Kyo looked at Tohru utterly confused.

"It's true. I...I wanted to be born in the year of the cat." Tohru said with force leaning toward Tohru.

"I mean, um, I..." Tohru said quickly not really sure what she was talking about she was going so fast. "I want to be friends."

Kyo looked shocked. He starred at Tohru like he might bolt any second.

'And if someone did, what would you do?'

'If a girl told you she loved you'

Shigure's early words rang through his head.

"That's stu--!" Kyo cut off.

"It's not that great." He said turing his cheeks flaming. "Being a cat." "Let's just go home." he said starting to walk.

'Somehow...I've started to understand Kyo-kun." Tohru thought watchin Kyo. "He's more awkward than most...but deep down he's a nice person."

'Someone sincere who speaks from the heart." Thought Tohru with a smile. "A good person."

"Do Kyo-kun...I hear you walked our little Tohru home. How was your _date_?" Shigure asked in a sweet voice as soon as Kyo was up the next morning.

"Kyo-kun and Tohru sitting in a tree...K...I...S" Shigure sang.

"Stop that! It wasn't like that!" Yelled Kyo blushing furiously.

"Yesterday was a fluke. It won't happen again. Ever!" He yelled Still blushing.

"Okay." Tohru agreed with a smile.

"I'm just happy your eating my food." She exclaimed happily. "Do you like it?"

"Huh? Uh..." Kyo trailed off looking down at the food. "It's..."

"What?!" Kyo yelled at Shigure who he noticed staring at him.

"nothing." Shigure said looking down at his food and glancing up quickly at him once.

"Will you quite staring at my?!" Kyo yelled

"I was just looking." Shigure said moving his food around.

"Well, cut it out!" He yelled furiously.

"You don't like it." Tohru said deflating.

"It sucks!" He yelled slamming his chopsticks down on the table.

"Ah." He realized what he just said and the crushed looked Tohru was giving him.

"I-it's okay." Kyo said quickly. "I timed that poorly."

Things shoud be a lot happier around the Sohma house from now on. Well hopefully--you can never tell.

"He...Makes me sick." thought Yuki sipping his tea.**And so Kyo and I Became Friends.**

Authors notes: I am soooooooo sorry that this took so long to do. I don't really have a good excuse. I just didn't want to do it. Oh well..I'll try and work on it more and have the next chapter posted in the next two weeks.

Once again I'm sorry...Please review though it really is the best encouragement i can get to type more.


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